Simplicity 3544 is pretty close, especially view c. If you wanted it to be just like that one, you would need to make the skirt round instead of rectangular, but that wouldn't be too hard. Simplicity and Butterick both have a ton of apron patterns, so checking through their websites would probably yield a better pattern.

I found a much better one. Butterick 5215 is almost exactly the same, with a sweetheart neckline instead of a flat one.

That's very cute! I wish I could crochet like that, since I've seen so many cute katamari headpieces made that way. They turn out so much cuter than the big mascot pieces that people make for cons. Mine are always styrofoam+felt+glue gun, but they're more like oversized crowns than proper hats.

Honestly, no one was forcing victorian women to wear them, the same way no one forces modern women to wear high heels. And high heels are much less comfortable than a good-fitting corset. A corset supports your back and keeps you from slouching, which both looks and feels good. It also takes away any pudge you've got on your tummy.

I wear corsets occasionally if I think that certain clothing would look better with an hourglass shape, or if it's a fabric that is totally unforgiving. I also wear them on long car/train trips, so that I don't slouch. It means I can get where ever I'm going without being in significant back pain once I get there. I like how I look in them, and other people's opinions don't really matter. It's my underwear, and I'll wear it how I want.

My mum has learned to use a sewing machine, and both my grandmas + all my aunts are quite good seamstresses. Thankfully, they all have their own machines, except for my mum. I think my mum's either too scared of my machine (it's a bit of a primitive old beast) or she just wants me to do stuff for her. Either way, I'm the one that hems skirts and pants and basic stuff that's tedious to do by hand. I also have a feeling that my mum and sister know that I would be furious if they broke my machine, so they don't bother touching it. I'd love to teach them, but I take the machine with me when I'm at college, so I haven't really got the time.

I would never lend it to one of my friends, though. They've got the cheapo $90 machines from wally world, and they've wreaked enough havoc on their own machines. I'm happy to do stuff for them, but I won't take my machine over to their houses.